Victorian Thanksgiving Turkey Greeting Card, 1890s

What catches the modern eye first is the inverted turkey dangling from a cornucopia explosion of grapes, corn, apples, and assorted produce — because Victorians said 'Happy Thanksgiving' by displaying their main course like a chandelier of death. The turkey's iridescent plumage fans out beneath a cascade of fruit and foliage, all framed within an arched vignette flanked by aggressively pink chrysanthemums, while a tiny American shield badge hovers to the right like a patriotic hall monitor. The ornate 'Thanksgiving Greetings' typography at the bottom, with its gilded drop-cap letters, suggests the designer believed elaborate fonts could distract you from the fact that you're staring at an upended carcass. This is what happens when 'abundance' and 'mortality' are given equal billing at the holiday table.